Radio broadcast .. (1922-30)

Why the Electrical Dealer is the Proper Outlet for Radio By GEORGE J. ELTZ, JR. Radio Sales Manager, Manhattan Electrical Supply Co., Inc. SNCE the introduction of radio broadcasting in 1921, radio material has been sold on a number of different merchandising plans through a great many different sources. Some of the plans followed and some of the outlets through which radio material was sold, have been quite satisfactory; but in general the most satisfactory outlet from a standpoint of both the manufacturer and the public, has been that which was used prior to broadcasting — namely, the electrical dealer. T HOW SETS ARE NOW SOLD AND WHY HE radio business of to-day may be quite clearly divided into two parts: 1. Business on complete sets which are: (a) Sold complete with all the necessary equipment to the customer who does the installation work himself. (b) Radio sets which are installed complete in every detail in the home of the customer by the party making the sale. 2. Parts business: (a) Sale of complete sets of parts to a customer, with detailed instructions by the party making the sale, on the manner in which they are to be connected. (b) Sale of parts to customers who are familiar with the manner in which they are to be used. The radio business of the United States is now one of the big industries of the country, from the point of view of volume as well as of public interest. Strange as it may seem, of all the other large industries in the United States, radio is probably the only industry which is conducted along the lines outlined above. There are a number of good reasons why this should be the case. Radio as an art has been familiar to a small number of people for the past twenty years. Previous to radio broadcasting there were approximately 1 50,000 amateurs in the United States who were intensely interested in radio. It is safe to say that every one of these amateurs had at some time or other manufactured a radio set. There were several reasons for this: 1 . The amateur could not always procure a receiving set completely assembled which suited his own particular needs. 2. It was practicailv impossible for the amateur to purchase a complete transmitting set, a side of the radio industry in which he was intensely interested. 3. The prices of both the receiving and transmitting sets were exceedingly high and the average amateur could not afford them. 4. The patent situation controlling the manufacture of both transmitting and receiving sets was as involved then as it is at present and complete transmitting and receiving sets, even when purchased, frequently lacked one or two essential characteristics which it was necessary for the amateur to add in order to obtain best operation. Due to the above causes, the amateur became familiar with the construction of radio apparatus. Manufacturers were quick to realize this, and produced a complete assortment of parts which permitted the easy construction of the complete sets used by the amateur. WHY "BUILDING YOUR OWN" is so POPULAR WHEN broadcasting was started, there was, consequently, a more or less complete assortment of radio parts available, and what is more important there were these 1 50,000 amateurs, all familiar with radio construction and all more or less prejudiced in favor of the purchaseof parts in the construction of radio sets instead of the purchase of complete instruments. That these amateurs have been a decided factor in the present division of the radio industry cannot be denied. The propaganda in favor of the construction of sets from parts spread by these amateurs and the fact that a great shortage of complete receiving sets existed when radio broadcasting first started, unquestionably accounts in a large measure for the great use of parts by the general public. That this use of parts will continue for some time (and, in fact, that it may always continue) is borne out by the ratio of parts sales to complete set sales, and the immediate interest of the public in any new part which is placed on the market.